Cronal
Cronal, a male Human and former Prophet of the Dark Side, was better known by his code name Blackhole, the mysterious Director of Imperial Intelligence who collaborated with Darth Vader after the Battle of Yavin to eliminate the Rebel Alliance. Adept at divination, Cronal was recruited by Emperor Palpatine from the Prophets to join the Empire. He abandoned himself to his meditations in the dark side, becoming withdrawn, physically frail, and paranoid. Considered Palpatine's "monster-maker," Cronal was responsible for the creation of several Sithspawn and other devices of Sith Alchemy. As time passed, Cronal withdrew further, growing steadily more mad as the dark side consumed him. After being exiled during the Galactic Civil War, Cronal returned as a warlord, and took the name of Shadowspawn. With a cadre of the Emperor's Royal Guards and a legion of shadow stormtroopers at his disposal, Shadowspawn laid waste to worlds of the New Republic. He and his splinter Imperial faction blazed a path of death and destruction, committing acts of piracy, terrorism, and mass slaughter. Conquering the Inner Rim, the warlord established his base of operations on the world of Mindor. The New Republic, responding to the threat of Shadowspawn, sent the newly appointed General Luke Skywalker after him, starting a campaign that resulted in a substantial loss of life. Planning a trap for Skywalker on Mindor, Shadowspawn was defeated during the ensuing battle. He survived, however, and later served the reborn Palpatine. History Early Life In the time of the Empire, rumors abounded regarding Blackhole's origins. Some believed he was once a senatorial page taken under Palpatine's wing, while other rumors asserted that he was an assistant at the Jedi Archives on Coruscant who was ultimately seduced by the dark side of the Force. While Palpatine's court knew him as a Prophet of the Dark Side, a Sith splinter sect based out of Dromund Kaas. However, as it turned out, his involvement with matters dark and arcane went even deeper. Lord Cronal was, in fact, originally a member of the Sorcerers of Rhand, another Dark-side cult based in the Nihil Retreat which was set in the Perann Nebula located in the Unknown Regions. The Sorcerers took him from his mother shortly after he was born and raised him as one of their number. Among the abilities they taught him was the power of Darksight. It was his use of Darksight which ultimately led him to leave the Sorcerers and the Unknown Regions and go to Dromund Kaas where he joined the Prophets of the Dark Side, and eventually the Empire. During this time he fathered a daughter, Sariss, though she remained unaware of her parentage. As Cronal and the other Prophets heaped abuses on her, Sariss suspected one of them was her father, but never knew which. As a Prophet, Cronal also helped train Palpatine's Inquisitor Jerec, and first taught him about the legendary Valley of the Jedi. Cronal's abilities at divination were unequaled, and the unerring precision of his visions impressed Palpatine. However, as it turned out, Cronal was using his Darksight ability to not merely see the future, but to influence it as well. At the same time, however, Cronal feared his own fellow Prophets were beginning to turn against him. When Palpatine, realizing that Cronal's power was such that he could not be ignored, placed him at the head of Imperial Intelligence, Cronal felt that it was just in time. Taking the code name Blackhole, Cronal left the Prophets for Imperial Intelligence. Imperial Intelligencer Lord Cronal's addition to the ranks of Imperial Intelligence was so smooth that few even realized he had joined. Cronal himself was extremely reclusive, even more so than Emperor Palpatine. Most of his work was carried out through droids, agents, and various fronts. In his rare appearances, Cronal presented himself through a holographic transmitter equipped with an image distorter and went by his code name, "Blackhole." Blackhole, to most, took the form of a vaguely humanoid figure anywhere from 1.8 to three meters tall, with a body resembling a shimmering starscape—or the robes of the Prophets of the Dark Side. The figure's head was entirely featureless, though eyes were sometimes visible and sometimes not, and the voice Blackhole transmitted was modulated so as to be androgynous. Only a handful knew Cronal's true form: a shrunken, withered, and frail old man. Steeped in the affairs of the dark side, Cronal had abandoned what was left of his former self. The dark side sapped at his physical and mental health, and he was forced to spend his time in a specially-designed life support chamber. To aid his servant, Palpatine gifted Cronal with a Neimoidian mechano-assembly that could carry the spherical chamber around on its insectile legs. As head of Intelligence, Cronal was granted virtually unlimited access and control over the Imperial HoloNet. He could take control of and appear in any holocomm unit in the Imperial Navy, or any one connected to the few civilian HoloNet nodes that still existed. He had unrivaled access to the galaxy's enormous quantities of information, and would spend his time in his sanctum meditating over the data that flowed across his screens and awaiting visions from the dark side of the Force. Cronal was given a ship of his own, the Imperial-class Star Destroyer Singularity, a wing of TIE/ln starfighters, the 123rd Nightstalker Group, and his own division of shadow stormtroopers, all of which he covered in a black stygian-triprismatic polymer coating that gave them increased stealth to sensors. Only a few years into his position as head of Imperial Intelligence, Cronal became convinced that his life was in danger and relocated to the Singularity, from which he would spend the rest of his career on the move. Personality and Traits Cronal, Imperial Intelligence agent.Lord Cronal was cunning, and one of Palpatine's most powerful dark side magi. But Cronal's heavy immersion in the dark side of the Force took a toll on him. Physically, the dark side ate away at Cronal, making him frail, shrunken, and dependent upon his life-support chamber. Cronal suffered mentally, too, with every vision and use of the dark side chipping away at his sanity. He became paranoid over nonexistent threats to his life, driving him further into seclusion. Cronal's tendency to mark his forces in black was another mark of his eccentricity, though it provided a tactical advantage as well. He was also able to manipulate his foes so they would play directly into his hands. Considered to be vicious in temperament, he ordered his troops to lay waste to many Republic worlds, and in doing so created wholesale slaughter and carnage in the year following the Battle of Endor. He was eager to confront Skywalker on Mindor, but was proven foolhardy when his trap failed. As a result, he was defeated, but not before having his soldiers fight to the last man. His goals were in line with the teachings of the Rhandites, namely the philosophy of thought that centered around the Way of the Dark. Even his codename was made with the intention of representing destruction incarnate which was why he called himself Blackhole. He was devoted to the concept of destruction as he believed that it was the only true power in the cosmos. Thus, he desired a never ending cycle of entropy until all of existence was destroyed whereupon he would resign himself to his fate. As such, he had low views on the Prophets of the Dark Side who he felt were conjurers who did not understand true purpose. Similarly, he felt that the likes of Darth Sidious believed themselves to be deluded as they desired to control the Dark when in fact the opposite was the case. In regards to Palpatine, he admired his machinations during the Clone Wars but held the view that he abandoned the power of destruction when he decided to rule the Galactic Empire. In contrast, he felt that Darth Vader was simply a blunt instrument; a brutish thug he did not recognize the power he had possessed. Regardless, he felt nothing but scorn towards his comrades who he felt were not understanding of the true aspect of the universe through the Dark or were simply pretenders. This meant that he had a dim view of the Sith who he felt were not worthy acolytes of bringing about the Way of the Dark and that he saw himself as the only true disciple of this path. Cronal was deeply involved in power plays and the political games that were necessary for a person in his position to survive within Palpatine's court. As such, he often pretended to show jealously to the likes of Darth Vader and even seemingly fail in an effort to cause his foes to underestimate him. As such, he often had complex strategies and played on the weaknesses of his foes. An example of this was using eye gestures and a softer tone in order to envoke sympathy among the Mon Calamari who judged a person's worth through their eyes. He also navigated the tense relationship Darth Sidious had with his apprentice and often showed a rivalry with Darth Vader. In addition, he played on perceived strengths in others in order to move himself away from positions of power. An example of this was ensuring Darth Vader's success so that the Sith apprentice would stay closer to his master rather then have Palpatine elevate Cronal to his right hand man. This had the dual role of keeping him safe which was seen by not being placed on the Death Star II and to get both followers of the Sith's oversight away from Cronal so he could safely work his operations in the shadows. Powers and Abilities Much of Blackhole's power derived from fear and paranoia. Individuals who spoke with him claimed to feel a noticeable chill, though measurements showed that the temperature of the air did not change. Though part of this fear was his physical presence, Cronal was also capable of inducing fear in others through the Force. After being made aware of the feat, he also gained the necessary Sith knowledge as well as developed techniques that allowed him to transfer his mind into another body. In addition, his great knowledge of Sith lore allowed him to use Sith alchemy to create enhanced objects such as swords resistant to the blows of lightsabers. His greatest strength was the ability to divine and even influence the future in an ability he called Darksight. Cronal had many other powers of the Force, including the ability to control minds, rip thoughts from the minds of others, cast Force Illusions, and heal himself. Cronal could also speak Bothese, Huttese, and Neimoidian. Category:NPC Category:General Characters Category:Imperials Category:Dark Siders